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Welcome!
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This week we are diving into the psychology of high performance. In particular, how the people around us impact our motivation and mood, how our life stress impacts our physical performance, how our framing of expectations impact our performance and health, and so much more. It's time to dive into the strange psychology of performance, and learn what we can do about it.

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As always, I hope you enjoy this eclectic mix of research which I found interesting. We'll be back next month with more insights and nerding out on science!
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On to the show!

-Steve​

​Psychological Stress Impairs Physical Recovery​

What they found: When it comes to adapting to workouts, we generally worry about the workout design. But, the stress we hold, can impact how we adapt to the workout itself. This study found that people with higher levels of psychological stress, whether measured as life event stress or perceived stress, showed poorer recovery of muscular function and more negative somatic sensations (fatigue, soreness) over a 4-day period after an intense resistance training workout. Stress impair sthe body's ability to bounce back from intense exercise.

So What? Even among young, fit weightlifting students, high mental stress was linked to their muscles staying sore and weak for days longer after an intense workout compared to their low-stress peers. This suggests the mind-body connection is highly influential even for 20-somethings pumping iron. The difference was up to 3 extra days for the high-stress group's strength and soreness to return to normal. So if you're feeling overloaded with life stresses, you may need to build in some extra recovery time between killer workouts to avoid overtraining injuries or just excessive fatigue. Listen to your body - it takes longer to recharge when you're drained mentally too.

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​How you Celebrate Impacts Your Teammates Performance​

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What they found: Players who visibly celebrated scoring a goal during penalty shootouts were more likely to be on the team that ultimately won. Expressing positive emotions like pride and joy may improve teammates' confidence and hurt opponents' confidence via emotional contagion. Celebrating a successful penalty kick with both arms raised was negatively associated with the opponent's next kick being scored. Players were over 2 times more likely to miss after their teammate celebrated with both arms.

So What? Good (and bad) vibes are contagious. When we celebrate we send a signal to our teammates (and opponents). In this case, that positive emotion spread and enhanced teammates' confidence, motivation, and performance while negatively impacting opponents. Whether you are a player, coach, teacher, or worker, we're always sending signals that your teammates or co-workers are paying attention to. Think hard about the vibes you're sending!

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​Our Environment Impacts Emotions and Motivation​

What they found: What kind of motivational climate are you creating? This study examined the relationship between athletes' perceptions of their motivational climate (task- vs ego-involving), motivation regulations, and intensity/impact of emotions (pleasant, anxiety, functional anger, dysfunctional anger) over time. For charities sake, a task environment focuses on skill development, effort, cooperation and so on. An ego environment focuses on comparison, rivalry, punishing mistakes, etc. The researchers found that:

• A task climate negatively predicted changes in anxiety/dysfunctional anger and positively predicted autonomous motivation.
• An ego climate positively predicted changes in dysfunctional anger and controlled motivation.
• Emotions partially predict changes in motivation regulations and vice versa, depending on the specific emotion.

So What? The environment we create can shift others emotional and motivational climate. e. A supportive, mastery-oriented environment is linked to more positive emotions and motivation. So if you want to enhance intrinsic motivation, and have athletes or workers who are generally more positive, create a task focused climate. And if you see a lot of "controlled motivation" or dysfunctional anxiety, it may be a signal that you need to change the culture of your team.

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​How are you Talking to Yourself?​

What they found: Self-talk is all about how we talk to ourselves. It can help us stay focused on the goal and turn down the emotions that swirl around during competition. In this study on tennis players, they explored the relationship between two types of self-talk (goal-directed and spontaneous) and the intensity of emotions experienced during matches. Goal-directed self-talk is controlled, used intentionally for self-regulation. Spontaneous self-talk is uncontrolled, effortless, and inherently emotional. Results showed that negative emotions were less intense when players reported goal-directed self-talk compared to spontaneous self-talk.

So What? Put simply, we should practice awareness and non-attachment to spontaneous self-talk. It's point is to be a messenger, to inform us of what's going on. But we get to choose whether we listen to that message or let it sink into the abyss of our junk file. Directed self-talk is all about regulation. How we talk to ourselves can impact our attention, motivation, and emotional experience. We should try different kinds and styles to see what shifts our attention or motivation, what turns up or down the volume on our emotions, and so forth. Self-talk is a skill. Develop it.

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​Is It Better To Win a Bronze than Silver Medal?​

What they found: What's the impact of winning, or falling just short? The paper investigates whether winning a gold, silver, or bronze impacts the lifespan of the recipient. The analysis found that bronze and gold medalists have similar lifespans, but silver medalists live 2-4 years less.

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​So What? This research is a bit controversial, but it's interesting to think about. The very rough theory for why this occurs is that silver medalists tend to see their close 2nd place as an unsatisfactory "almost won" outcome. It's an emotional letdown. The bronze medalist is often just happy to medal. While, as I said, I'd caution reading too much into this, it does provide a nice example of how expectations cloud our life, and possibly even lifespan. The practical takeaway is that we need to teach people how to mentally reframe competition and success. Our interpretation (and expectations) matter.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to read my random musings on the latest science and research. Expect more of the same, the 2nd Sunday of every month. If you found this interesting, consider sharing this e-mail with a friend. And if you are that friend reading this message, sign up to get it monthly.

And let's keep the feedback coming! If you'd like to understand what the research says on a topic, send your suggestions my way. Who knows, it might be my next deep dive down the rabbit hole.

All the best,

​Steve​

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